The second - though I don't love it. The chief reasons are Smaug, and everything about the filmmakers' masterful rendering of him (CGI, the voice-acting, etc.), as well as the intriguing battle scenes (Barrels out of Bond, Bolg vs. Legolas, etc.)

All that I appreciated in the first installment, other than Martin Freeman's and McKellan's acting, which is appreciable in all three of course, was the Dwarves' singing and scene with Gollum. There were too many annoyances in it that stood out (to me), that Desolation of Smaug didn't have. Even though I guess Radagast was in both of them.... so perhaps not.

And the reason I disliked the third Hobbit installment is because of the overly conspicuous and terrible CGI job on all the goblins and Trolls, the lack-luster Dwarf vs Orc fighting that had nothing on any battle in the LotR films, the unbearable cheesiness of Galadriel's scene at Dol Guldur, where she is given recycled lines literally from Two Towers ("You have no power here......!!!!!"), the Dwarf-yaks that appear from nowhere, everything about Alfrid and how he is a discount-Wormtongue, how Beorn only showed up for three seconds in the whole film, and the fact that Smaug never trampled the tower that Bain and Bard were standing in to shoot him from.

The second - though I don't love it. The chief reasons are Smaug, and everything about the filmmakers' masterful rendering of him (CGI, the voice-acting, etc.), as well as the intriguing battle scenes (Barrels out of Bond, Bolg vs. Legolas, etc.)

All that I appreciated in the first installment, other than Martin Freeman's and McKellan's acting, which is appreciable in all three of course, was the Dwarves' singing and scene with Gollum. There were too many annoyances in it that stood out (to me), that Desolation of Smaug didn't have. Even though I guess Radagast was in both of them.... so perhaps not.

And the reason I disliked the third Hobbit installment is because of the overly conspicuous and terrible CGI job on all the goblins and Trolls, the lack-luster Dwarf vs Orc fighting that had nothing on any battle in the LotR films, the unbearable cheesiness of Galadriel's scene at Dol Guldur, where she is given recycled lines literally from Two Towers ("You have no power here......!!!!!"), the Dwarf-yaks that appear from nowhere, everything about Alfrid and how he is a discount-Wormtongue, how Beorn only showed up for three seconds in the whole film, and the fact that Smaug never trampled the tower that Bain and Bard were standing in to shoot him from.

Another vote for Desolation of Smaug - though it's less a case of favourite, and more a decision of which film is the least worst. Notwithstanding the flaws (the cliffhanger ending was a mistake if ever there was one), the one redeeming feature in this turd is Thranduil. Who is awesome.

SO...the three Hobbit movies...favorite of the three Hobbit movies...eh...I think I have to say the third. While I know a lot of people have issues with Tauriel, and I'm not a huge fan of fanfic in general, I really, really appreciate PJ for they way it was done. I am loathe to start any flame wars, or revisionist vs. purist vs. pragmatist arguments. But I kind of liked her. And, while it was gut wrenching to see Fili executed, and Kili die in Tauriel's arms, I liked that it didn't happen so matter-of-factly, off-camera, the way it was done in the book. And the auction.

"And it is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen."

On an emotional level, Battle of the Five armies. (Especially after watching the EE, which improves it significantly) It also felt closest to 'Tolkien' out of the three. Bilbo was the heart of it all, and I love Freeman's Bilbo.But I'd say Desolation is a better film than Battle. Better direction, better story, better music, better effects and more subtle than the other two.

Agree with Denethor about the cliffhanger ending.I wish they'd stuck with two films,the first ending at Mirkwood and the other continuing with Smaug and the battle. We'd have two great movies instead of two good ones and an average one.

The first. Because Tauriel isn't in it. I also don't want any flame wars, but since she was brought up, I feel I should say this. In my opinion, Tauriel's inclusion ruined the movies to the point where I could no longer suspend my disbelief; they ceased to be real to me, and became nothing more than actors dressed in costumes in front of a green screen so they could take a pay check home. It isn't Tauriel herself that ruins the films, but what she does.

When I first heard of her, I was nervous, but I was determined to keep an open mind, and give her a chance. I was mistaken. Had there been no "love" triangle, it would probably have been okay to have her there, but the "love" triangle killed my ability to suspend my disbelief and continue to be vested in the movies. The fact that the "romance" was dwarf on elf, was an extra slap in the face to the bigger problem where the audience (many of them young teens who can't differentiate, and therefore take everything they see at face value) is expected to believe that sexual harassment and disrespect are nothing more than cute, flirty banter. When a man says to a woman some form of "Stick your hands down my pants," he doesn't respect her. And if this same woman caves to the sexual harassment she doesn't respect herself. It doesn't matter if he's young, hot, and white in real life, but we're expected to give Kili a free get out of jail card because of those very reasons. Imagine if Bombur had asked Tauriel to look down his pants. People would have seen Bombur as a pervert, and the trouser searching request as the disrespectful statement that it was. The directors instructing Kili to die for her, and then Thranduil to claim that it was "Real" would not make it so. Because of the "romance", the character of Tauriel, who could have been a strong female character is reduced to a spineless ninny who caves to sexual harassment, and whose every action in the two movies she is in, is motivated, not by any nobility of heart, but by a man. And one who sexually harassed her at that.

And now my jobs, one as a mother, and one as a teacher, are both made much more difficult. For example: Me: "Dear, that boy doesn't respect you at all. You should stop being his doormat." Student: "But he asked me to look down his pants, just like Kili did in the movie! It was so funny!" Me: (Grinding teeth) "You know those movies were scripted and choreographed, don't you?" Student: "Yes, but it was REAL!" Me: (Big sigh) "No, dear, it wasn't."

Like Old Begonia, my first thought went to the "first" trilogy, but as for The Hobbit, I really have always enjoyed the rollicking mayhem of the Unexpected Party, and so the first part of the trilogy tends to delight me more. That said, all three were breathtaking adventures for me. I realize that the book to film experience makes some grind their teeth, but I have lived with the tension by reminding myself that reading a book and creating a movie are two very different media, and so some "allowances" ought to be given. As for "invented" places, well...I still tell this to my students, "Isn't imagination a wonderful thing? So, when you get older, richer, and more skillful, have fun using your imagination to honour this book, be it reading it to friends (with all the voices) or rendering it into opera."

I didn't like the first one which I watched at the movies on opening weekend (I actually thought about going to the premiere in wellington, but was tied up at work so I couldn't fly over to the north island), in fact I was so bored I fell asleep in between. After that I couldn't be bothered watching any of the other Hobbit movies really. I watched The desolation of Smaug when it was on TV, and except for the dragon I thought the CGI was really poor in places. The battle of the five armies I watched on the plane just recently returning back home from New Zealand. I didn't mind it too much to be honest, I kinda liked the fighting. The closing credits (and the song) just left me in tears, but more for personal reasons than me being super sad the hobbit is over. well, at least the end was spot on

If we're talking about the Hobbit here, I think Battle of Five Armies was my favorite, which surprises me greatly. I love AUJ and DoS, of course, but the first one seemed just a tad excessively slow-paced, and the second one lacked a central theme like the other two. BoFA had its bad parts too, obviously (Gundabad, Tauriel/Kili, very little Beorn), but it also had great stuff like the Attack on Dol Guldur - which, honestly, should have gone on longer - and the scene where the Wood Elves arrive in Dale, the Arkenstone, Thorin's death, Eagles, auction, and most everything else. And of the three Hobbit movies, it was the only one that ended somewhat emotionally: in LotR, each movie ended with that beautiful, stirring score, something both triumphant and sad, something poignant, a powerful conclusion to each film. AUJ ends with Thorin hugging Bilbo, which, while very sweet, had no real emotional impact for me. DoS had no real power in the ending, except Bilbo's line. BoFA had Bilbo's farewell, which would have been heartbreaking if any of the Dwarves but Balin and maybe Bofur had been more than props. The auction was really touching though. The Hobbit movies, for me, are beautiful and incredible and wonderful, and they have tremendous action and high mystical danger, and a sense of leaving the real world and entering Faerie, but they are not, to me, very emotional until Fili's death in BoFA. And I'm fine with that, frankly, because I like them, but the Lord of the Rings strikes a chord with me that brings me to tears every time I watch it.

(Oh, in DoS there is I See Fire, which makes the whole movie feel very epic and powerful, and does actually have a lot of emotion packed into it. I love that song. And in BoFA there is the Last Goodbye, which is also emotional and very Tolkienesque in its structure: those two songs make me forgive all problems in the Hobbit trilogy. )